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Comments Posted By justafarmer

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just sent a year’s worth of support at once via PayPal. I’ll take the coffee mug, please!

» Posted By justafarmer On February 18, 2011 @ 8:09 pm

From a union worker family standpoint…

yes, sadly, I can see more and more of this nonsense in the future.
But I am so thrilled to see the workers & supporters turning out in Wisconsin, so perhaps THAT will continue!

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 8:40 pm

google “Wisconsin protest” there are loads of news reports!

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 7:35 pm

I haven’t seen any of the vids or even heard of the protests until tonight.
The workers are pissed, and rightly so, that Walker has the Wisconsin National Guard on alert to take over the public service jobs if they DARE to go on strike.
sigh…

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 7:27 pm

Ed Schultz now covering the Wisconsin governor wanting to bust the unions and HUGE protests in Wisconsin!

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 6:59 pm

thanks again, Sue.
I just cringe to think what the workplace would be like today without what our earlier organizing brothers & sisters went through.
And the Tea Party wants to go back to before that time!

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 6:54 pm

not sure how I could live without my flip flops.
The dogs have, for years, believed they are chew toys (dog rule #1: “if it’s on the floor, it’s a chew toy”).
So I have a pile of mismatched flip flops, but who cares?

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 6:39 pm

Oh yes, Joe Hill! Joan Baez did a wonderful cover of that.

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 6:36 pm

yes, there are definitely some downsides to some unions. And I’ll put IBEW right now as one of the problematic unions, especially when it comes health insurance, pensions and (in particular) firing someone who is incapable of doing the job and, in some cases, having said person continue working can be downright dangerous to fellow workers.
That said, I still believe that unions have done more for working people (including non-union workers) than almost anything else. And I will acknowledge some wonderful non-union shops I’ve worked that paid union wages and benefits and took an interest in their workers’ well-being. I’ve also worked in non-union shops that were total nightmares.
Thanks for your comment, Sue. I appreciate hearing the bad experiences along with the good.

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 6:35 pm

thank you everyone for the thought-provoking responses and personal union experiences (and a HUGE thank you to AdLib for finding the most excellent graphic to go with this post).
I’ve been writing this post in my mind for quite sometime. It could have been much longer, but I thought it might be a good idea to keep my initial post short (every time I hear “union thugs” or “outrageous union wages and benefits” ad nauseum from the right, the post gets longer and longer).
Every time I start to feel a little overwhelmed, I pull up the best union songs on YouTube: Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Billy Bragg and others (“Which Side Are You On?” is a real classic worldwide). Those songs document the horrific conditions & fights the earlier workers and union organizers went through to give us the workplace protections we now enjoy, and also let us know we still have to keep the fight going (think Sago Mine, Massey Mine and other places).
Hmmm… I have a few more union posts percolating in my mind…

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 6:21 pm

I read that earlier today. Members and veterans of the Wisconsin National Guard are plenty upset about the proposal. The Governor is in for a rude awakening, I think, when the National Guard refuses to be his own private militia for political gains.

» Posted By justafarmer On February 15, 2011 @ 4:13 pm

thank you zootliberal.
Obviously, I believe in unions for all the good they have done for most workers in the USA, including the non-union workers.
Now it looks like the powers that be want to drag us back to the America THEY want back…the 1800s or even earlier.

» Posted By justafarmer On February 14, 2011 @ 9:06 pm

yay Teamsters! I was a Teamster back in the early 80s.
I was also the first (and until our family’s newest generation with the nieces & nephews) to go to college.
Graduated with a BA (even though it took me 12 years on the pay it as I could pay it plan) and then earned my master’s degree. And that’s another thing about the Tea Party I just don’t get… why is getting an education so scary?

» Posted By justafarmer On February 14, 2011 @ 9:04 pm

what can I say, I’m apparently an over-achiever!
must be the farmer in me… 😉

» Posted By justafarmer On February 14, 2011 @ 9:00 pm

excellent example!

» Posted By justafarmer On February 14, 2011 @ 8:54 pm